The present invention relates to non-destructive determination of composition of a meat sample, preferably a freshly-ground meat sample. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method and an apparatus for preparing such a meat sample for composition determination.
In light of recent advances in technology, a wide variety of testing or analyzing devices (non-destructive in relation to the sample being tested) are becoming increasingly commercially available. Some of these devices (or apparatuses) require preparation of the sample prior to analyzing or testing.
The above-referenced related application, for example, describes an apparatus which non-destructively determines the relative percentage of fat or lean in a ground-meat sample.
The instant application further discloses such analyzing apparatus and describes a novel method and apparatus for preparing such a ground-meat sample for relative fat- or lean-content analysis.
Non-destructive sample-analyzing or -testing devices or apparatuses are additionally becoming increasingly economically popular because of the substantial reduction of time required to obtain desired sample information, as compared to traditional destructive-testing or -analyzing laboratory practices. However, problems may be encountered in cleaning and sterilizing such apparatuses, particularly when used for testing meats and the like, such meats subsequently being used for human consumption.